Since the remodel has been completed, I have increased my flower purchasing 1,000%.

Trader Joe's is thanking me.

I made pie. Blueberry. Delicious.

Isn't pie perfect for summer?

This is the light next to my front door. Found these lights (there are 5 more around the front) at Lamps Plus, thought they were perfect and bought them. See the light bulb? It's an Edison Style Light Bulb which I adore. Problem though - the bulbs are $8.00 each!

I need a job to afford the bulb.

My tomato garden is coming along nicely.

Thankfully I have enough sun to grow these babies.

Puzzling though is my Lemon Tree - it's not doing very well and the two flowering plum (do not produce fruit) next to it have both died.

Sick lemon tree = trip to the nursery

My north side neighbors have this cool cactus which I see outside my kitchen window and right now it is blooming.

Yum - cactus pear coming soon.

Kinda ugly, right? Yea that's the north side of my house just outside the kitchen window and door. A new block wall went in about six weeks ago and new wood/iron gates are on order to finish the project.

Gate guy is MIA!

So now the joke is the "ghetto gate"(there is graffiti that was scratched out on the other side) is here to stay.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Today is the beginning of the end of the very special time in my life of raising my two boys. Later this afternoon, my older son will graduate from high school and although I am fully aware that I am not the first parent to experience my current emotions, they are new to me. This summer for him will be full of work with his first job, seeing friends and getting ready for college, and on the last weekend in September, we will move him to college.

September 5, 2001: First Day of Kindergarten

June 11, 2014: Last Day of Instruction

Nine months ago when he brought home the registration packet for the new school year, it said "Senior Class of 2014" and it struck me that a date that his Kindergarten teacher had said to all of us new parents in 2001 had arrived. When she told us that they were the class of 2014, the date seemed so far into the future, so remote that thinking about it wasn't an option. I had a five year old and a three year old to love, teach, feed, chauffeur around and play with. Where did the time go?

Making the choice to be the person who was around for them all the time while they've been growing up has been the most rewarding period of my life. My younger son still has two more years of high school to complete so my job is not over yet, but having my older son move out will change things for all of us. I will be forever thankful to have experienced the last 18 years (and the next two!) with my boys.